At her election night victory party last month, Kelly Ayotte cast a wide net when praising those who helped her win her campaign for New Hampshire governor.
“I want to thank every single one of you who are here, I want to thank everyone who is watching at home, and all the people who went out and worked for me,” Ayotte said.
One name that went unmentioned, however, is that of the man Ayotte has chosen to serve at her right hand as she prepares to move into the governor’s office: Hillsborough County Sheriff Chris Connelly.
Shortly after election day, Ayotte chose Connelly to manage her transition team. Days later, she named him to serve as her new chief of staff when she takes office next month.
That move puts Connelly, a 57-year old newcomer to State House politics, in a Concord job typically filled by career political operatives. While Ayotte, a former New Hampshire attorney general, and Connelly will both bring resumes steeped in law enforcement to the governor’s office, Connelly’s new role will require him to navigate issues extending well beyond matters of law and order.
How Connelly — who lives in Mont Vernon, is married and father to a Coast Guard pilot — sees his new post is hard to know. Ayotte’s transition team declined a request to make him available for an interview. But people who have worked alongside Connelly in law enforcement think Ayotte’s made a good hire.
“Chris is probably the most personable and nicest guy that I’ve met over the years in law enforcement,“ said Merrimack County Sheriff David Croft, who first met Connelly when they were assigned to share a room as police academy cadets in the 1980s. “He always cares about other people before he cares about himself.”
In the 35 years since his academy days, Connelly has held a range of law enforcement jobs: deputy sheriff in Hillsborough County, police sergeant in Goffstown, and eight years as Dunbarton’s police chief. Throughout, Connelly showed a knack for the administrative side of policing: training, certification, and accreditation. Connelly talked up that aspect of his experience during a 2020 campaign appearance on Manchester Public TV.
“Dunbarton became the smallest law enforcement agency in the country to have achieved and maintained this high level of professional accreditation during my tenure,” Connelly emphasized.
Connelly won that 2020 sheriff's race, and his entrance into elective politics followed what now appears to have been a turning point in his career: the three years he spent as a staffer to Ayotte when she was a U.S. senator. Connelly’s title in Ayotte’s Senate office was “special assistant,” with a focus on homeland security, first responder and justice issues. People familiar with the operations of Ayotte’s office then say Connelly’s role ended up being broader.
The same could be said about Connelly’s role in Ayotte’s 2024 gubernatorial run. Technically, he led the campaign's “Law Enforcement for Kelly Coalition.” But he was most conspicuous as a frequent Ayotte campaign trail companion. Connelly’s Facebook page features picture upon picture of him and Ayotte side by side: marching in parades, playing paintball, in formal wear for night receptions, in western getups for a cowboy-themed meal under a tent, smiling over a dog bowl of French fries at the Deerfield Fair.
That kind of buddy-buddy relationship may not be typical for a governor and a chief of staff. But Rich Sigel, who spent a dozen years serving in that role for John Lynch and Jeanne Shaheen, says a personal connection helps in the job.
“There does have to be that comfort level,” Sigel said.
Sigel said that, at the end of the day, a chief of staff has a hand in almost everything a governor touches, from writing the state budget, to daily scheduling, to vetting picks for top state jobs and pushing policy objectives before the Legislature — and much more.
“It's not that the chief of staff necessarily does all that stuff, but that's the person who orchestrates it all,” Sigel said.
In that respect, Connelly’s reputation for being even-keeled and cordial could be a plus. So says a guy who should know: Gov Chris Sununu. In 2021, Sununu tapped Connelly to chair the state’s Police Standards and Training Council. According to Sununu, a chief of staff serves two main functions: to act as the governor’s “filter,” and to serve as a de facto chief operating officer for the state.
“One of the best things Chris brings to the table is being able to handle a crisis — he is a sheriff and he’s seen tough situations — and not overreact, and be calm and collected in any situation,” Sununu said.
Connelly is on record saying he strives for poise. Back in 2022, he told Bedford community TV that basic manners and courtesy are key to successful policing.
“It’s always been important to me to try and treat people well — really put yourself in their shoes — because everyone has a bad day sometimes,” Connelly said.
It's a point that’s hard to dispute, and certainly something for both Connelly and Ayotte to remember as they get ready for what being governor — and a governor’s chief of staff — will entail.
